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Possible score of a lifetime, for myself

P

P Bokor

New Member
Hello Ak family,

I just wanted to share my recent find.

A Linn Sondek LP12 with upgraded Ekos Tonearm (mk1), Lingo 1 power supply, and a Van den hul Frog MC! Serial number puts it somewhere between 1984-1987 for the table, unsure about the Lingo or cartridge.

No paper work for it except the tonearm box, but it is complete otherwise.

I have it connected but no sound from one channel (i'm suspecting an rca cable/connector issue). I'm looking forward to getting this one dialed-in.

Any of you have any recent finds?
 
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P Bokor said:
Hello Ak family,

I just wanted to share my recent find.

A Linn Sondek LP12 with upgraded Ekos Tonearm, Lingo 1 power supply, and a Vandenhul Frog MC! Serial number puts it somewhere between 1984-1987 for the table, unsure about the Lingo, Tonearm or cartridge.

No paper work for it except the tonearm box, but it is complete otherwise.

I have it connected but no sound from one channel (i'm suspecting an rca cable/connector issue). I'm looking forward to getting this one dialed-in.

Any of you have any recent finds?
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Very nice! You have to tell us the story so we can celebrate with you.
 
P Bokor said:
Hello Ak family,

I just wanted to share my recent find.

A Linn Sondek LP12 with upgraded Ekos Tonearm, Lingo 1 power supply, and a Vandenhul Frog MC! Serial number puts it somewhere between 1984-1987 for the table, unsure about the Lingo, Tonearm or cartridge.

No paper work for it except the tonearm box, but it is complete otherwise.

I have it connected but no sound from one channel (i'm suspecting an rca cable/connector issue). I'm looking forward to getting this one dialed-in.

Any of you have any recent finds?
Click to expand...

Congrats, as Mr. P said, post the details and some pictures….

Just recently acquired a Rimless Ivory 301 Garrard myself….

VR
Andy
 
P Bokor said:
Hello Ak family,

I just wanted to share my recent find.

A Linn Sondek LP12 with upgraded Ekos Tonearm, Lingo 1 power supply, and a Vandenhul Frog MC! Serial number puts it somewhere between 1984-1987 for the table, unsure about the Lingo, Tonearm or cartridge.

No paper work for it except the tonearm box, but it is complete otherwise.

I have it connected but no sound from one channel (i'm suspecting an rca cable/connector issue). I'm looking forward to getting this one dialed-in.

Any of you have any recent finds?
Click to expand...

Without the price how could we know if it actually is the score of a lifetime :dunno:

Many great scores with turntables like an AR XA for $15. But the real score of a lifetime was in 2020, a schveet Well Tempered Lab Turntable for $650. These sold for $3495 in 1985 and was my bucket list table for 35yrs until that fateful day.
20200927_164417.jpg


And to sweeten the deal even more it came with some very nice phono cables:D. The seller purchased the table 10yrs earlier used and most likely had no idea of the cables value as they were never mentioned in the eBay ad.

They came in a really nice box of their own with all the paper work, the tables belt, all fluids, and a new in box Sumiko Black Pearl cartridge thrown in.

So I went to the site and looked up the cables, thought about selling them to cover the price of the table but figured I would never have phono cables this nice and I could always sell them later if needing money.

Screenshot_20210105-184444.jpg

The Black Pearl is not seeing any use, have a schveet new LOMC recently installed replacing the Grace recently removed.
 
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Mister Pig said:
Very nice! You have to tell us the story so we can celebrate with you.
Click to expand...
Nothing too crazy on the story, a typical marketplace stroll with a generic "turntable for sale" title with no price listed. They were liquidating a family member's estate and just trying to get rid of everything. I saw a portion of the label and threw out a ridiculous number, they rebutted with a small increase over my offer and I jumped on it. It wasn't until I brought it all home that I saw the Vandenhul cartridge...
 
Sgt Shultz said:
Without the price how could we know if it actually is the score of a lifetime :dunno:

Many great scores with turntables like an AR XA for $15. But the real score of a lifetime was in 2019, a schveet Well Tempered Lab Turntable for $650. These sold for $3495 in 1985 and was my bucket list table for 35yrs until that fateful day.
View attachment 2736681


And to sweeten the deal even more it came with some very nice phono cables:D. The seller purchased the table 10yrs earlier used and most likely had no idea of the cables value as they were never mentioned in the eBay ad.

They came in a really nice box of their own with all the paper work, the tables belt, all fluids, and a new in box Sumiko Black Pearl cartridge thrown in.

So I went to the site and looked up the cables, thought about selling them to cover the price of the table but figured I would never have phono cables this nice and I could always sell them later if needing money.

View attachment 2736682

The Black Pearl is not seeing any use, have a schveet new LOMC recently installed replacing the Grace recently removed.
Click to expand...
Wow, that is a stunner! It's wild how much (and overlooked) the cables/interconnects go for.

I'd like to post what I paid for it, but that would just be bad audiokarma ;-D
 
P Bokor said:
Wow, that is a stunner! It's wild how much (and overlooked) the cables/interconnects go for.

I'd like to post what I paid for it, but that would just be bad audiokarma ;-D
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Not at all, it's done on a regular basis, plenty here have mentioned getting great gear for free even. In the interim 18months after I purchased mine I saw another 3 WTL sell in the $850 range, ads which I shared here for any interested.

Helped a few here score great deals on Kenwood KD-500 tables in the $300 range with Black Widow, Grace, etc arms.

That was then this is now and prices have escalated dramatically on the WTL. Always rare they rarely show up for sale, I still have a search set on eBay.

Recently we were given a heads up on an eBay sale for SAE 1000E and 1000LT cartridges for $99, more than a few happy fellow members. Then there's the recent Wally World $15 vinyl sale, the Jamo Amazon sale etc etc etc.

Then there are those that were not able to take advantage of the sales for whatever reason, is that a reason not to mention the great scores? Glad others felt it ok otherwise I wouldn't have 16 new albums at $15, or Jamo C-103's that paid for themselves flipping 4pair.
 
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My most recent score is a new cartridge, no not the SAE 1000E although I did get one of those, but the LOMC Windbell 100MCMKII for $313.

Ran across this cartridge when researching the SAE so looked for reviews and found one by Michael Fremer in Stereophile.

Did I get a better price than you could? Not necessarily, but it's still a score because it's the best cartridge I've heard in my system at a pretty bargain price.
IMG_20221202_235017069.jpg

I highly recommend this cartridge, hard to believe it's one of the companies entry level. Here's the link to the Stereophile review that includes this cartridge and a few other of their entry level models.

https://www.stereophile.com/content...el-6-classic-turntable-loricraft-prc6i-record
 
MisterDK said:
Andy, I think you’ve got a few of those “lifetime scores”.. :)
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You know Duane they just became available at just the right time and at the right intervals ;)

Would love to happen upon a Fairchild 750 that needs restoration and within my budget :rolleyes: yeah that’s gonna happen :bs:
 
Sgt Shultz said:
. . . Did I get a better price than you could? Not necessarily, but it's still a score because it's the best cartridge I've heard in my system at a pretty bargain price.
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Looking up definitions for the word "score" shows a great range of meanings, but I agree that it can include new items purchased at the regular price. My best score was probably the Linn LP12 with Basik Plus arm and Basik cartridge that I bought new at the standard retail price from a Linn dealer in 1985. At the time, this combination sold for about $1000, but it totally transformed, elevated, the pleasure I got from playing my records compared with the Thorens TD146 I had been using before. I wasn't even shopping for a turntable; I was looking at amplifiers, but was so glad the dealer suggested auditioning an upgrade in the source component.

Another score, and much more recent, was finding that I could have my dealer sell for me an aging LP12 for more than enough to buy a brand new Rega RP3. Instead of spending $1500 or so in parts to maintain the Linn at like new performance, I got a new 'table with an expected service life of 25 years that I found totally satisfying for no money out of pocket, and actually getting back a couple hundred to put in my pocket (an important consideration after a lifetime of rewarding, but not very high-paying, service-oriented work).
 
Thinking back I got quite a few great deals on keeper gear but nothing exceptional. A dual voltage Nak CR7 in the box with manual and remote for $15 probably tops the list. I see comparable EBay sold listings around $2500.
A gigantic CD collection was far and away the best “score” as the proceeds paid for the heart of my main system, Mac C47 pre and 452 amp, Tekton Double Impacts, with about $10 grand left over.
Congrats on the turntable find. I am still using a Sansui SR 838 for the manual table and a Denon DP 61f as the auto, both capable but nothing extraordinary.
 
My most recent score on a component would a Pioneer PL-570 (The 70's version) for a fraction of the going rate back in June. At the moment, it's undergoing restoration work but hopefully it will be back in the rotation before too long.

Most recent score for any gear would be one of those SAE 1000 E cartridges for $99 with the eBay blowout sale. The sound I'm getting out of it can easily compete with upper range MM's I've used in my system, and blows away the entry-level/mid-range MM's I've listened to (for the sake of more fair comparison, I mean carts w/elliptical styli).
 
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P Bokor said:
Nothing too crazy on the story, a typical marketplace stroll with a generic "turntable for sale" title with no price listed. They were liquidating a family member's estate and just trying to get rid of everything. I saw a portion of the label and threw out a ridiculous number, they rebutted with a small increase over my offer and I jumped on it. It wasn't until I brought it all home that I saw the Vandenhul cartridge...
Click to expand...
That is a nice score!
 
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